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Operation Degree Completion
University of Central Oklahoma (Ok.)
By using every communication tool available—from email to Facebook—the University of Central Oklahoma reaches out to former students who left the institution just short of earning a degree as well as reverse transfer-eligible students, working with them to finish what they started. The result: more than 3,000 completed associate’s and bachelor’s degrees over the last six years. Read the full story.
Comfort Dog Program
Concordia University Wisconsin (Wis.)
Zoey, a golden retriever, offers stress reduction, emotional relief and improved well-being to students, faculty and staff at Concordia University Wisconsin. Zoey assists therapists in the counseling center and visits students in classrooms, easing anxiety, stress and depression, according to 63 to 68 percent of the students who have interacted with her over the past two years. Read the full story.
Success Coaching
Tulane University (La.)
To aid students who might be reluctant to get academic support—particularly those with ADHD—Tulane initiated the Success Coaching program that matches students with personal coaches who have received professional training and credentials through the International Coach Federation. Since 2012, the program has grown from 31 students to 1,196 as of fall 2015. Read the full story.
Veteran Student Academic Intervention Program
National University (Calif.)
Since 2012, National University’s Veteran Student Academic Intervention Program provides special tutoring, supplemental instruction and improvement strategies to the nearly 300 student veterans per term on academic probation (GPA below 2.0) or at risk of being placed on probation (GPA between 2.0 and 2.25). Struggling students are also mentored by fellow veterans. Read the full story. |
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Personalized Achievement Contract Program
Mercy College (N.Y.)
Through Mercy College’s Personalized Achievement Contract program, all incoming students—often the first in their families to reach higher education—are assigned a professional mentor who advises them on all facets of their education from course selection to career prep and life after college. In the first five years of the program, first-year retention rates have risen 17 percent. Read the full story.
Peak Performance Mathematics Bridge Program
Northern Arizona University (Az.)
After a placement test revealed that incoming freshman and transfer students weren’t as proficient in math as other standard test scores indicated, Northern Arizona University established the Peak Performance Mathematics Bridge program, a free, online summer tutorial. In 2015 alone, more than half of the 480 students who participated improved math placement scores by at least one level. Read the full story.
Cox Communication Academic Center for Student-Athletes
Louisiana State University (La.)
LSU’s Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes uses technology and remote tutoring, among other tools, to support its NCAA Division I student-athletes in their studies as well as with financial literacy, health and wellness, and dealing with the media. Since 2001, student-athlete graduation rates have risen from 55 percent to 81 percent, and community service hours have tripled. Read the full story.
Bridge Scholars Program
Colorado College (Colo.)
Designed for first-generation college students whose high schools’ advanced courses were limited, Colorado College’s Bridge Scholars program includes classes, activities, relationships with mentors, faculty panels, advisement sessions and workshops, all aimed at helping to develop a more collegiate mindset. By feeling well supported, students in the voluntary program perform better than those who are not. Read the full story.
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